SHADOW SELVES: WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU?
by Aletheia Luna
I must also have a dark side if I am to be whole. ~ Carl Jung
The Shadow describes the part of the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. ~ John Elder
Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or isolated part that we generally try to ignore. The Shadow can be a source of emotional richness and vitality, and acknowledging it can be a pathway to healing and an authentic life.
In order to live authentic, mindful and whole lives we need to become conscious of the nature and even personality of our Shadow Selves, our Monsters. In order to repair, heal, move on, and progress in our life journeys we need to acquaint ourselves with our darker sides.
13 TYPES OF SHADOW SELVES
Our Monsters come in many different shapes and different varieties. While some are more ferocious than others, others don’t really seem to be all that monstrous at all – that’s until we reap the devilish consequences in our lives. Below I have categorized a variety of 13 different Shadow Selves. Some overlap with each other, and many are interconnected, meaning that it’s not uncommon to possess more than 1 or 2 different Monsters. 1. THE EGOTISTICAL MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: arrogance, egocentricity, pompousness, inconsiderateness, self-indulgence, narcissism, excessive pride. 2. THE NEUROTIC MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: paranoia, obsessiveness, suspiciousness, finicky, demanding, compulsive behavior. 3. THE UNTRUSTWORTHY MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: secretive, impulsive, frivolous, irresponsible, deceitful, unreliable. 4. THE EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: moody, melodramatic, weepy, overemotional, impulsive, changeable. 5. THE CONTROLLING MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: suspicious, jealous, possessive, bossy, obsessive. 6. THE CYNICAL MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: negative, overcritical, patronizing, resentful, cantankerous. 7. THE WRATHFUL MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: ruthless, vengeful, bitchy, quick-tempered, quarrelsome. 8. THE RIGID MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: uptight, intolerant, obstinate, uncompromising, inflexible, narrow-minded. 9. THE GLIB MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: superficial, cunning, inconsistent, sly, crafty. 10. THE NONCHALANT MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: emotionally detached, distant, indifferent, uncaring, unexcited. 11. THE HIGHLY-STRUNG MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: touchy, nervous, reactive, tense, overemotional, hypersensitive. 12. THE COWARDLY MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: weak-willed, passive, timid, fearful. 13. THE FEATHERBRAINED MONSTER This person displays the following characteristics: puerile, childish, immature, illogical, simpleminded, vacuous. FACING OUR MONSTERS How can we face our Monsters, our Shadow Selves? How can we hope to create more harmony in our lives? The answer: by consciously choosing to work with our souls. This could include:
To conclude, I will leave you with a few thoughts:
The secret is out: all of us, no exceptions, have qualities we won’t let anyone see, including ourselves – our Shadow. If we face up to our dark side, our life can be energized. If not, there is the devil to pay. This is one of life’s most urgent projects. ~ Larry Dossey If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. ~ Gail Sheehy Who has not at one time or another felt a sourness, wrath, selfishness, envy and pride, which he could not tell what to do with, or how to bear, rising up in him without his consent, casting a blackness over all his thoughts … It is exceeding good and beneficial to us to discover this dark, disordered fire of our soul; because when rightly known and rightly dealt with, it can as well be made the foundation of heaven as it is of hell. ~ William Law |
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